MTN-Afghanistan

By: Abdul Jamil Sharify SVSCCCMS, Goa-India

By: Abdul Jamil Sharify Roll No: C-07-01 A project report submitted in the partial fulfillment of the requirement for award of degree of Bachelor of Business Administration of SV s Sridora Caculo College of Commerce and Management Studies Khorlim-Mapusa

By: Abdul Jamil Sharify SVSCCCMS,

Goa-India

Declaration

I Abdul Jamil Sharify here by declare that the present project report entitled Consumer Preference Study on MTN Afghanistan is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of degree of Bachelor of Business Administration to of SV s Sridora Caculo College of Commerce and Management Studies, is a Bonafide record of work done by me under the supervision of Mrs.Harsha Talaulikar I further state that no part of the project has been submitted for a degree or diploma or any other similar title of this or any other university.

Place: Khorlim-Mapusa, Goa,403507

Date:15-06-09

Abdul Jamil Sharify


Goa-India

Company Certificate


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Guide Certificate

This is to certify that the project report entitled Consumer Preference Study on MTN Afghanistan is an original work carried out by Abdul Jamil Sharify under my guidance and that no part of this has been presented for any other degree or diploma, fellowship or any other similar title.

Place:Khorlim-Mapusa, Goa 403507

Date: 15-06-09

Abhishek Karmali

(Course coordinator)


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Acknowledgement

This project report entitled Consumer Preference Study on MTN Afghanistan

is an output of 6 weeks of sincere and constant effort. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude and thank everybody who have helped in this project and without whom this would not have been completed successfully

I wish to express my gratitude to my guide Mr.Azim Atarud. I am grateful to the Managers of all Departments for granting me the required sanctions and allowing me to visit all the departments of the company.

I am also truly grateful to the organization and all those people working at, MTN Afghanistan for having patiently endured me and for spending their valuable time to elucidate and demonstrate to me in detail about the working of the various departments specially marketing, throughout my placement there. Their extreme co-operation and helpfulness have proved as an equal factor of support to me.


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Table of Contents

Serial No. Title Chapter No. Page No.

1 Executive Summary - 6

2 Industry Overview Chapter I 10

3 Company Overview Chapter II 18

4 Departmental Overview Chapter III 31

5 Consumer Survey Chapter IV 54

6 Observations & Recommendations

Chapter V 67

7 Learning Derived - 73

8 Conclusion - 78

9 Annexure - 80

10 Bibliography - 82


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Executive Summery

After 20 years of war and civil unrest, Afghanistan is finally seizing the chance to start a recovery process. Telecommunications will certainly play a big role in repairing the country s shattered economy and society.The extraordinary recent growth in mobile subscribers is of particular note, as the country works to restore some normality. By mid-2008, mobile market penetration had reached 21%

still low by regional standards

but the total subscriber base had grown by a remarkable 165% in the previous 12 months.

Need For The Study

Two kinds of data are useful for telecom companies . Data about the population, and data about audiences.

Data about the population

Almost every country has a government department in charge of statistics, often called a Department of Statistics, or Census Bureau. Every 5 to 10 years, that department does a census of the entire population, and publish volumes with detailed tables of results.

Some organizations, such as NGOs, often collect this statistical data from various sources, and republish it in a handy format.

It's almost certain that some data about the population is available for the wanted coverage area.

Data about audience

However when it comes to audience research it tends to be a little different. Some organizations automatically find out if they have customers, because they get income from sales.

I therefore realised this need and decided to do a survey, specially done for MTN Afghanistan, avoiding asking questions about other telecom companies except those questions which translated value in terms of competitive analysis.The rationale behind this kind of research is that it can give you much more detailed information than a syndicated survey.


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Methodology of the study:

Primary Data:

Sampling design

Determining the sample size and nature was the first crucial step. In accordance with the nature of the survey i.e. according to the demographics, sampling was done.

The criterion reserved was;

The target interviewee was compulsorily required to be a mobile user who Who used MTN specifically, as I aimed to undertake a company specific survey.

Research design

Taking the objective into consideration a survey questionnaire was prepared to collect the necessary information. The survey was targeted at mobile users who particularly used MTN. It was designed to understand the psychographic profile of the consumer, the general trend of the industry in terms of consumers

preference in service, the consumers assessment of MTN in terms of it s offerings, the consumers satisfaction with MTN, to gain an insight into the consumers switching habits,

Data collections

The primary data for the study was collected with the help of the research questionnaire designed. The necessary data was collected by means of face to face direct interviews and phone interviews with the consumers. As I wanted the patrons of MTN exclusively, the geographic scope of my survey was extended to areas where MTN events or MTN sponsored events were taking place. Also, I frequented high end hangouts and regulars where I was able to come into contact with a variety of candidates, for the said interview.

Data analysis

Survey was completed and then the data was tabulated into database for further analysis. With the help of programs the data was then transferred into percentile variables for ease in interpretation and presented along with the report.

Further the analysis and the interpretation of the each variable from the questionnaire was


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done separately. And the interpretations were presented in graphical forms with the help of pie charts and bar graphs for better understanding.

As data was collected personally through direct interaction with the consumers, some facts in terms of customer s expectations and needs have been revealed in the process.

Finally based on the analysis and the feedback from the customers set of suggestions and recommendations have been forwarded through the report.

Secondary data:

The basic purpose of the secondary data surveyed was to understand the macro dynamics of the Afghan telecom Industry. The understanding of the macro dynamics made it easier to understand the market and customer of the telecom industry at the micro level

The objective of this study was to collect the necessary data about the Afghan telecom industry and understand the discipline of the industry and gain insights on the marketing the product with so many limitations.

The data was successfully collected from various sources like web sites, reference guide and material. The knowledge gain from the secondary data was finally combined with the primary data and hereby presented in this report.


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Objectives of the study:

The chief objective of the study is to understand the consumer preference

It was designed to understand the psychographic profile of the consumer.

The general trend of the industry in terms of service offerings,

To ascertain the consumers preference in cellular brands.

The consumer s assessment of MTN in terms of its offerings,

To measure the consumer s satisfaction with MTN

To gain an insight into the consumers switching habits.

To recommend suggestions based on the findings of the research.

Limitation of the study:

The study has been conducted in a systematic and comprehensive manner so as to achieve the objectives stated under the objectives of the study , with accurate results. Though all the possible, care and precautions were taken, some of the limitations that were unaccountable

It takes a lot of skill to do a survey well, and produce unbiased information. Even then, a survey can cover only a small proportion of the population, so there is always some sampling error involved. The smaller the sample, the larger the sampling error. Despite these limitations, a skilfully-done survey provides unbiased information. It is more trustworthy than spontaneous audience feedback.


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(Industry Overview)


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Industry Overview

Global Perspective:

World telecom industry is an uprising industry, proceeding towards a goal of achieving two third of the world's telecom connections. Over the past few years information and communications technology has changed in a dramatic manner and as a result of that world telecom industry is going to be a booming industry. Substantial economic growth and mounting population enable the rapid growth of this industry.

Research works associated with world telecommunication industry

A number of research works are being carried out all over the world to improve the quality and speed of transmission. Research works are also done on the basis of the users' needs. The objective of the research work is to provide quality and affordable service to the consumers.

Market potentiality of world telecommunication industry

The world telecommunications market is expected to rise at an 11 percent compound annual growth rate at the end of year 2010. The leading telecom companies like AT&T, Vodafone, Verizon, SBC Communications, Bell South, Qwest Communications are trying to take the advantage of this growth. These companies are working on telecommunication fields like broadband technologies, EDGE(Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution) technologies, LAN-WAN inter networking, optical networking, voice over Internet protocol, wireless data service etc.

Economical aspect of telecommunication industry

World telecom industry is taking a crucial part of world economy. The total revenue earned from this industry is 3 percent of the gross world products and is aiming at attaining more revenues. One statistical report reveals that approximately 16.9% of the world population has access to the Internet.

Present market scenario of world telecom industry

Over the last couple of years, world telecommunication industry has been consolidating by allowing private organizations the opportunities to run their businesses with this industry. The Government monopolies are now being privatized and consequently competition is developing. Among all, the domestic and small business markets are the hardest.


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Afghan Perspective:

The total Afghan market grew to 6.72m, with an annual uplift of 66.7%. This was less than

half the 139.8% recorded in the prior twelve-month period. Indeed, growth has declined

consistently over the past four quarters despite the fact that penetration remains low, with a

rate of just 20.4% at the end of Q3 08. It seems highly likely that growth will continue to

slow, unless there is any significant change in the country s economic conditions.

Service Market The market for commercial public telecom services grew to about US$100 million by the end of December 2005. The forecast for 2006 is an increase of around 35% based on the historically high growth levels plus the introduction of one additional nationwide mobile (GSM) licensee as of 15 April 2006 and the possibility of one more nationwide mobile (GSM) and up to four additional unified services licensees by the end of 2006.

Telecom Industry Trends

There is very robust demand for all kinds of telecom services. The mobile (GSM) services market has essentially doubled during 2005, and the number of urban areas with coverage has likewise doubled. Consumers are demanding higher quality of service and the regulator has responded with drive tests and enforcement campaigns.

Business Evnironment

Market conditions and competition

Market conditions in Afghanistan are generally favorable. The Afghan Constitution provides guarantees to the protection of private investment and property and a new Private Investment Law, promulgated in 2005, provides further details. The Companies Law and Commercial Code is expected to be drafted during the course of 2006. The Ministry of Communications has adopted a forward-thinking policy and encouraged private investors. A new Telecom Law was promulgated by President Karzai on 18 December 2005 that is very favorable towards private investment, competition and consumer protection. The Ministry of Commerce has begun serious preparations for World Trade Organization (WTO) accession.


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Market structure and trends

The telecom market is currently dominated by two nationwide mobile (GSM) service providers that were licensed in 2003. In September 2005, the regulator concluded an international competitive tender for two (2) additional nationwide mobile (GSM) licenses that were awarded for US$40.1 apiece. The incumbent wireline service provider, Afghan Telecom was corporatized in September 2005 with the government of Afghanistan owning 100% of the share capital. Afghan Telecom will very likely be fully privatized (sold) during 2006.

The regulator completed an international competitive tender for Local Fixed Service Provider (LFSP) licenses in December 2005 and at least four (4) applicants are expected to be licensed to serve approximately 300,000 additional users in rural and underserved areas of Afghanistan. About a dozen nationwide Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have been licensed and there appears to be solid demand for additional players. Thuraya is also providing satellite mobile communications services and cooperates with a national service provider since late 2004.

Regulations and liberalization

On 18 December 2005, President Karzai signed the new Telecom Law into effect. The law establishes an independent sector regulator, to be called Afghanistan Telecom Regulatory Authority (ATRA). ATRA will consist of a five-member board appointed by the cabinet. ATRA has the complete range of regulatory powers, including licensing, numbering, frequency management, interconnection, consumer protection and monitoring & enforcement.

ATRA will be guided by the Ministry of Communication s Telecom & Internet Policy (3 July 2003), which sets forth a very comprehensive and pro-competitive approach towards market liberalization to accelerate the widespread availability of affordable access to telecom services on a nationwide basis.

Based on this policy, the government has already issued two nationwide mobile (GSM) licenses (in July 2003) and completed an international competitive tender for two (2) additional mobile (GSM) licenses in October 2005.

In addition, in December 2005, the regulator completed an international competitive tender for additional Local Fixed Service Provider (LFSP) Licenses that will provide wireless local loop (WLL) to rural and underserved areas of the country.

As of 10 January 2006, the policy allows licensed mobile service providers to also offer fixed services and vice versa. The first licensee in this category will be Afghan Telecom,


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formerly the telephone operations within the Ministry of Communications, established as a company in September 2005 (100% government-owned). ATRA will soon conduct a public consultation on formally adopting an Unified Services License regime by the end of 2006.

Revenue and conduct of contribution in basic services

The MoC collects 2.5% of the net revenues of all licensed service providers for a Telecom Development Fund (TDF) to increase penetration in the rural and un-served areas. ATRA is in the process of developing procedures and policies to use these funds efficiently and effectively. Also, the MoC is working on a plan to provide subsidized telecom services to the public education sector and other social services and for disabled and poor people.

The majority of GSM Services users utilize pre-paid scratch cards, while the majority of internet usage is by NGOs and private companies that pay monthly subscription fees.

The government has adopted a modern tax regime and therefore revenue sharing is not required. Various tax laws were promulgated in 2005, including Business Receipts Tax (a precursor to Value Added Tax) and Income Tax.

Competitive landscape in basic telephony

At the present time there is no competition in the basic telephony market. The Policy foresees the awarding of two additional national (fixed-line telephony) service licenses, but it is unlikely to be implemented until after 2006. Meanwhile, at least four (4) LFSP licensees will commence operations in early 2006 to address rural and under served parts of the country. It is expected that the LFSP licensees will deploy at least 100,000 new access lines by the end of 2006.

Market structure and trends

Mobile is by far the preferred choice by most users. The two mobile licensees are the largest investors of private capital, make the largest tax contribution to the ordinary budget of the government of Afghanistan, are the largest employers and provide training and well-paid jobs to hundreds of Afghans.


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Analysis of revenues, usage and adoption

Mobile penetration has gone from zero at the end of 2002 to 500,000 by the end of 2004 and close to one million at the close of 2005. Services are mostly being offered on a prepaid basis, while some postpaid customers exist in the corporate market. ARPU (Average Revenues Per User) were initially fairly high but are expected to decrease, as penetration increases.

Overview of mobile data service and adoption

Mobile data services are currently not being offered and SMS is apparently being discontinued due to lack of market response. Most ISPs offer broadband connectivity to the business market, through point-to-point wireless connections. However, Afghan Telecom has recently rolled out dial-up internet connectivity with modest success and CDMA-based WiFi connectivity that appears much more promising. Other licensees have also indicated interest in offering WiFi and WiMax.

Adoption forecasts by technology

No official statement has been made by mobile operators as to technological innovations slated for introduction yet, but it is assumed that the offering of roaming by both operators will introduce competition in this sector and reduce tariffs.

Market structure

Up until now, it appears that most data communications is internal and among private enterprises and NGOs (including various United Nations operations).

However, the MOC has recently created an ICT department devoted to promoting the sector. The initial focus will be on the creation of an ICT Council, consisting of the Ministries with the highest level of requirement and infrastructure. The first electronic government (eGov) project was deployed during 2005 and is a real-time treasury application to facilitate the budget process. A second initiative focusing on procurement will likely follow in 2006. In truth, most Ministries have been very slow to adopt ICT, most due to the lack of trained personnel.

The MoC commenced framing legislation to facilitate the broader adoption of ICT. The draft law incorporates the UNCITRAL electronic commerce (eCommerce) and digital


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signatures model law, reflects the CyberSecurity and CyberCrime standards set by the Council of Europe and adopts the key elements of the information society service (electronic communications) directives of the European Union.

Current Population

Current Total Population

28 Million

Current Rural Population

19 Million (70 %)

Current Urban Population - 09 Million (30 %)

Population Growth Rate Per Annum

2 %

Current GDP

Currency: Afghani

GDP : 20 Bn ($)

GDP Per Capita : 714 ($)

GDP Real Growth : 18

20 %

GDP Composition : Agriculture: 70%, Industry: 15%, Services: 15%

Literacy 36%

Phone lines 85,000 (2008)

Phone density 0.34 (2008)

Mobile phones

)

Mobile Phone Operators in Afghanistan

Mobile Commnication is one of the booming sectors in Afghanistan. Mobile Communication were introduced in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban in 2001. It has become the main means of communication and one of the fastest-growing and most profitable sectors in the country s economy.

Currently there are four mobile operators in Afghanistan.


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Etisalat Afghanistan is a newly established GSM operator in Afghanistan. In May 2006 Telecommunications Corporation [Etisalat of the Unites Arab Emirates] signed an agreement with Afghan authorities in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. to operate a GSM network across Afghanistan and become the fourth GSM operator in the country.

Afghanistan is 100% owned by Etisalat U.A.E. Etisalat UAE (the parent company) is the sixth largest company in the Middle East and has subsidiaries in Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Egypt, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Niger Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Togo, Tanzania, and Pakistan.

Areeba is a new global brand which made its appearance in the Sudanese telecommunication market in July 2005. Areeba s first project has started in 1990 in Ghana then Benin following in 1999, Syria in 2001, Liberia 2002, Yemen in 2003, Cyprus and Guinea Bissau in year 2004, Guinea Conakry and Afghanistan 2006.

is the trading name for Telecom Development Company Afghanistan Ltd. Currently, Roshan is one of the largest private company employers in Afghanistan, directly employing over 470 people, 21% of whom are

women. In addition, Roshan provides indirect employment to more than 5,000 people who work as dealers, distributors, contractors and suppliers.

Afghan Wireless Communication Company is the product of founder Ehsan Bayat's mission to reconnect Afghanistan with the wider world. Currently, Afghan Wireless is serving 17 cites: Kabul, Herat, Marzar-i-Sharif, Kandahar and Jalalabad to become one of the very few Afghan companies operating in 17 separate regions of the country.


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(Company Overview)


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Company Profile

Investcom Profile

Areeba Afghanistan is a telecommunication company started at 22nd July 2006 and functioning in four major cities of Afghanistan . Areeba is a subsidiary of investcom an international provider of mobile telecommunications services with operations in nice countries in the Middle East, Africa and Europe. Areeba Afghanistan Ltd has about 300 employees which out of them 6% to 7% are expatriates.

Investcom is a leading international provider of mobile telecommunications services with operations in ten countries in Africa, the Middle East and Europe. As at 31 December 2005, Investcom had a total of approximately 4.9 million subscribers compared to approximately 2.5 million as at 31 December 2004.

Investcom operates five mobile telecommunications networks in Africa, namely Benin, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and Sudan. In the Middle East, Investcom operates mobile telecommunications networks in Syria and Yemen and in Europe, Investcom operates a 3G mobile telecommunications network in Cyprus. Investcom also provides international carrier services, principally through Mediterranean Network SAM in Monaco and telecommunication engineering and consulting services.


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Our Mission

Investcom's mission is to be the leading international telecommunications company in each of the markets in which it operates by continuously striving to exceed its customer's expectations. Investcom aims to improve the lives of its customers, creating the highest levels of satisfaction and loyalty, through the provision of high quality, innovative telecommunications services. Investcom aims to achieve a leading position in all of its markets, and our focus is on regions offering high growth potential. This is especially the case for the regions of Africa and the Middle East, where Investcom has a strong competitive advantage. Investcom believes that a combination of economic growth and favorable demographic profiles in the markets in which it operates, or will operate in the future, will result in increased demand for its services.

Investcom considers it a vital obligation that it acts as a responsible business, providing a great working environment for its employees, as well as working to improve the lives of the communities and countries in which it operates. For this reason, Investcom undertakes a variety of social, sporting and educational programs and sponsorships within many of its territories.

The origins of Investcom Holding date back to 1982, when it was founded as Investcom Group. Since then, Investcom has built a solid track record of providing quality, cost-effective telecommunications services and using the most advanced mobile and wireless telephony systems. Investcom has expanded its business into markets with high growth opportunities, especially in Africa and the Middle East. In expanding its international portfolio, it has successfully leveraged its experienced management team and track record of developing and operating mobile telecommunications businesses. The result is a diverse revenue base drawn from strong customer demand and loyalty.

Vision & Mission

To be the leading provider of telecommunication in Afghanistan


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MTN Group Profile

MTN Group Limited is a multinational telecommunications group that began operations in South Africa in 1994. Since then, MTN has expanded beyond Africa as the Group continues to pursue further growth in emerging markets. Phuthuma Nhleko, is its CEO.

The MTN Group offers cellular network access and associated services through subsidiaries and joint ventures in 10 other African countries as well as in Iran, where it is the 49% shareholder in Irancell, the company that was awarded the second GSM license in Iran.

As at 31 March 2006, MTN reported over 24 million subscribers across 10 of its cellular network operations in Africa

Botswana, Cameroon, Cote d Ivoire, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and the Republic of Congo (Congo Brazzaville). To date, the MTN Group has invested over R30 billion in telecommunications infrastructure across the African continent.

In May 2006, MTN announced a landmark deal to create the pre-eminent mobile operator in the emerging markets of Africa and the Middle East that will operate mobile networks in 21 countries and serve nearly 30 million subscribers.


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Rationale of the Transaction

Investcom LLC ('Investcom') and the MTN Group Limited ('MTN Group') announced a landmark deal to create the pre-eminent mobile operator in the emerging markets of Africa and the Middle East.

The Proposed Transaction is firmly in line with MTN Group's vision to be the leading provider of telecommunications in emerging markets. MTN Group is undertaking the Proposed Transaction to enhance its growth profile in Africa and the Middle East, to gain further scale in emerging mobile markets, to strengthen its operational capabilities and to diversify its financial profile, thereby unlocking synergistic potential.

Investcom is a leading international provider of mobile telecommunications services with operations in Africa, the Middle East and Europe. At the end of 2005, Investcom's mobile operations had approximately 4.9 million subscribers in Benin, Cyprus, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Investcom has recently been awarded GSM licences to build and operate mobile networks in Afghanistan and Guinea Republic, expanding its operations to ten countries and boosting its combined population under licence to approximately 147 million.

There are no overlapping operations between MTN Group and Investcom. On a combined basis, MTN Group and Investcom (the "Enlarged Group") would operate mobile networks in 21 countries, covering a population under license of approximately 488 million people and serving approximately 28.1 million subscribers (as of 31 December 2005). The footprint would also more comprehensively cover important regional hubs such as West and Central Africa with Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Benin, Congo Brazzaville, Liberia, Guinea Bissau and Guinea Republic and East Africa with Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda. Furthermore, the Proposed Transaction would expand MTN Group's presence in the Middle East through operations in Iran, Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan.

Given the attractive competitive position of MTN Group and Investcom in their various markets, the Proposed Transaction would complement the Enlarged Group's strategy to be the leading mobile operator across its footprint.

Investcom's cash generative operations would make a sizeable contribution to the financial performance of MTN Group, enhancing its growth profile and diversifying revenues and earnings. The Proposed Transaction also offers the Enlarged Group the potential for increased revenue and reduced costs through regional cross-selling opportunities, enhanced economies of scale, technology and product sharing and the alignment of a centralised procurement system.


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The Values:

Energy:

It values and nurture the energy and dynamism needed to achieve the very best in business.

It looks forward to future challenges and opportunities.

Openness:

As a company, it is welcoming, sociable, and friendly to customers, suppliers, and employees. It

deals with people in a clear, direct way and is always honest and fair in business dealings.

Enablement:

Its aim is to open up opportunities and to actively help people reach their goals. It always

delivers what it says it will.

The Future:

The future is a world in which technology extends its reach. Already, music, books, and

services no longer have to have a physical format to be sold online. Advanced networks will

increasingly provide education, healthcare and other services and goods. For instance,

telemedicine already allows patients to seek the best advice from doctors around the world;

now robotic aids are beginning to make remote surgery possible. As the pace of

technological change increases, MTN will extend its reach into new technologies, services,

and markets to create opportunities for its customers.


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Products & Services

Call Me

GPRS

Me2U (Dealer to customer)

Me2U (Peer to Peer)

Send Me Product

Caller Tunez

Messaging services

GSM-Fax

Family SIM Pack

Public Call Office

BoGo SMS

MMS

Exchange Rates

Pay as you go


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SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis is an important tool for auditing the overall strategic position of a business

and its environment. Once key strategic issues have been identified, they feed into business

objectives, particularly marketing objectives. We have used SWOT analysis conjunction

with other tools for audit and analysis explained further on. It is also a very popular tool

with business and marketing students because it is quick and easy to learn. If a SWOT

analysis does not start with defining a desired end state or objective, it runs the risk of being

useless. A SWOT analysis may be incorporated into the strategic planning model.

Identification of SWOTs is essential because subsequent steps in the process of planning for

achievement of the selected objective may be derived from the SWOTs

Strength:

Attractive Schemes

Good network quality

Good roaming service

Good billing system

International identity

Low cost service provider.

Equipped with the latest technology

Provides global telecommunication services in more than21 countries worldwide; Owns

Largest nationwide telecom coverage and penetration;


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Weakness:

Highway coverage problem

New in the market

Underdevelopment of mobile business and lack of fixed-mobile convergence;

Lack of business strategy towards the promotion of cheap voice calls ;

General complaints about customer services provided .

Opportunities:

Untapped market.

Expansion to more profitable products and services that are less regulated;

Emphasis on telecommunications and IT solutions and broadband internet services;

Expansion of Internet smart-phone services.

Contracting more overseas partners to further its global expansion;

Threats:

May lose its customers in case of entry of new mobile players

Fierce competition from MTN-Areeba s main rivals: Etisalat, Roshan, and AWCC

Global financial crisis;

Overall increase of redemptions;

Operating markets liquidity;

Recent behavioural targeting scandal;

Inability to foresee the successfulness of long-term projects considering current

economic fluctuations


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PEST Analysis

The PEST analysis has proven to be a flexible and easy to understand tool in the context of

strategic planning. Like with all tools, the real value of the PEST analysis depends on the

way it is used.

Political Factors

The Communications Act 2003

Environmental Concerns

Internet Regulation

Concerns over Radiation from Mobile

Telephones

Converged Regulation

Social Factors

Shift towards the Information Society

Mobile Society

Commercialization of the Home

Increasing Need for Communications

Internet at Home

Changing Population Demographics

Economic Factors

Fluctuations in the Economy

Overall Economy of Afghanistan

GDP Growth

Technological Factors

Wireless and Mobile Communications

Convergence

Residential VoIP

Real-Time and On-Demand Communications


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Porter s Five Force Analysis

An industry is a group of firms that market products which are close substitutes for each

other. Some industries are more profitable than others. Why? The answer lies in

understanding the dynamics of competitive structure in an industry. The most influential

analytical model for assessing the nature of competition in an industry is Michael Porter's

Five Forces Model, which is described below

The bargaining power of customers

This segment is unattractive because the buyers posses strong or growing bargaining power

such as:

1 The buyer s switching cost is low in telecom sector.

2 The product is undifferentiated because most of the companies in the telecom sector

provide almost same services.

The bargaining power of suppliers

In this segment, the suppliers bargaining power is more, because there are less number of

companies in this sector and for that reason they have the strong bargaining power

The threat of new entrants

segments attractiveness varies with the height of its entry and exit barriers.

If we look from this angle then this segment is moderate because the entry barriers are high

for the foreign companies, because of the restriction imposed by the Afghan government on

them, such as, they can have a maximum of 20% stake in the company and secondly the

companies should have certain amount of money with them as mention by the govt. and the

exit barriers are low. this segment is more attractive for the companies.


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The threat of substitute products

When we considers on the substitute products, this segment is unattractive because there are

many actual and potential substitutes for the product of MTN and all the competitors have

almost similar product or services, but they mainly differ in the service point of view.

The intensity of competitive rivalry

A segment like telecom sector which is very attractive because, it is in the growing stage of

its life cycle, and this makes this segment attractive but on the other hand it already contains

aggressive competitors such as:

1 Etisalat

2 Roshan

3 AWCC

The numbers of Competitors are less in the telecom sector that makes this Sector attractive

to most of the foreign companies. And in future this can lead to frequent price wars,

advertising battles and new-product introductions and will make it expensive to compete.

But overall this segment is very attractive.


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Marketing Mix

Product Mix: - The telecommunication companies in general develop the products

by providing some new offers or features in them so that they stand unique in the

competitive service market. Under this section will be all the different products

offered.

Promotion Mix:- In the formulation of marketing mix, telecommunication

professionals also blend the promotion mix in which different components of

promotion such as advertising, publicity, sales promotion, word of mouth promotion,

personal selling are given due weight age.

Price mix: - Pricing policy of MTN is considered important for raising the number

of customers and subscribers, prices are flexible as per the market conditions.

Special offers: For a specific period buy a sim card worth(100) and get 50afg

talk time etc.

Occasional offers: New Year offers, Eid to Eid offers.

Discount in international calls: lower than other competitors.

Place mix: - MTN s services are sold through the retail outlets and shops, the

services are available all over the country.

People mix: - People are very important in the service delivery business, as opposed to the product delivery, where one reaches for the product on a shelf. The service customers will judge the product partly by the service provider whether he or she is friendly, knowledgeable, etc, so marketer carefully select, and motivate their front line people. This task is called internal marketing.


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(Departmental Overview)


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HR Department

Currently there are 7 employees working in HR department.

Talent management, induction, performance management, carrier development and benefits are the most common functions of this department.


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Recruitment and selection:

They use many ways of recruitment such as walk-ins, referrals, newspapers, campus hiring and web site. Rival firms can not be a source of recruitment, because they do not patch, but they hire them if the candidate has already left the rival firm. And there is one important barrier on recruitment and selection process, which is the labor market; they can not get what exactly they have described in their job description.

Interview process:

They follow well-structured interview pattern. The first interview test is taken by one of the HR people, and after the candidate successfully passed this interview he is send to the HR officer for the second round interview and then to the concerned department for the last interview.

Orientation:

They provide on-the-job orientation program. Maximum it takes one week depending upon the seniority of the job. Organization and development (OD) team takes care of this whole process.

Performance Appraisal:

Balance Score Card/EPR (Employee Performance Review) performance appraisal is used in this company. It has a cover page containing the general information, guidelines and instructions. General information will be filled accurately by the appraisal. And it is very important to read the guidelines and instructions before rating the appraisee. Each party will add their comments with the due dates and signatures.

In this EPR form they focus on 4 things:

1. Objectives Review and Evaluation In this part, the appraiser has to rate the achievements of objectives with the due date and related information.

2. Knowledge and Skills Here, the appraisal rates the technical skills and knowledge of the appraisee.

3. Behavioral Competencies The Appraisal has to rate the behavioral competency of the appraisee in this section.


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4. New Objectives and Development Needs and Plan

Here, new objectives and development plans will be filled.

The main objective of this is to:

Assess employee performance based on objectives, technical skills & behavioral competencies.

Control company productivity by improving individual performance.

Establish individual development plan

Training & Development:

T&D is need based and they do the skills gap analysis. After the skills gap analysis they come to know who needs what type of training and development. Below are some of the trainings they provide:

Communication skills.

Sales management.

Customer satisfaction.

Employee Remuneration

They are much better than the standards in the industry. Factors influencing their remuneration plan are economic situation of the country, social and political environment and mostly nature of the job itself. Some of the benefits they provide are:

Salary

Bank Account

Transportation

Medical facility

Recreational activities.

Events

Gatherings

Carrier development

Bonus is given once in a year based on their performance.


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Motivation:

They use several ways of motivating the employees. As they are following open-door policy, they have created a friendly environment. They appreciate employee s efforts by words and rewards. They take care of their development needs, for example if someone is lacking skills or knowledge in a particular field, he is provided and automatically he feels motivated.

They give bonus on annual basis and salary is increased every year based on their performance.

They have an interesting program called Y ello Star which is held every month. There is a panel team consists of 12 members taking care of this whole process. The employee of the month gets a prize. And the winner of the year gets the chance of traveling to South Africa.

Policies:

Policies are made in corporate (Core Office) and then it is adapted, revised, and customized accordingly in the company.

Firing Policy:

They believe in long-term relationship, but unethical behavior is not tolerated.


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Admin Department

40 employees are working in this particular department.


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Procurement:

All types of purchase which are above 100$ are done by procurement, and those purchases which are less than 100$ it is given by the concerned department itself.

The Directors and managers are the authorized signatories.

All SIM, Generators and Towers are bought by corporate or group level in order to gain the benefit out of purchasing in bulk.

Site Acquisition:

This particular division basically deals with the locations/ sites for antennas or towers. For any site in a particular location first many Site Survey Request forms are sent to the Admin Department, and then they choose one out of all based on location and price. After the site is chosen, contract is made for minimum 15 years which is extendable.

There are two types of sites which they choose for their antennas.

1. Roof top (small towers) 2. Green field (60 meter towers)

General Services:

Many activities are carried out by this particular division such as transportation, insurance, security, and warehousing etc.

Fleet:

Hotel reservation, ticketing, travel, and visa etc are done by fleet people.

Travel expense from for travels and all are filled by the employees and sent to admin department and then they check it according to the policy of the company and payment is done by finance department.


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Warehouse:

There are two kinds of warehouse, one for SIM Cards and the other is for Technical equipments. Stocks are kept accordingly, they order whenever needed.

Fixed Assets:

They insure all their fixed assets like buidings, antennas, generators by international companies.

Maintenance:

Fuel of generators and the maintenance work is given to only one vendor in order to decrease the complications.


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Finance Department

Currently there are 13 employees in this department.

Payables:

Related to suppliers cycle, a cycle is anything which starts with the order and ends with reconciliation.


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Receivables:

All cycles related to dealers and customers.

General Ledger:

Cycle of depreciation, contracts and accruals plus employees whole related data such as salary etc.

Plus whatever is related to tax, rent and similar.

Cashier:

Pay and receive money (Cash/ cheque) according to payment or receive order.

Bank Controller:

To do the reconciliation and the cash control.

Revenue Assurance:

To coordinate and analyze the revenue structure against (Interconnect) plus other services. And his frequent job is to coordinate with Carrier Services, Marketing, Sales and IT.

Budgeting and Reporting:

His job is to contribute the budget and send the various monthly reports to the concerned parties.


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Sales Department

There are 28 employees working in sales department and it has 1200 dealers around Afghanistan.

Retailer:

To motivate the retailers to sell out the product by giving them incentive.


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Direct & Indirect Sales Manager:

He is the responsible person to create packages in order to sell out the product for corporate users like NGOs, Embassies, and Ministries etc and distribution accounts.

Sales Reporting Coordinator:

He has to send the weekly, monthly reports to sales general manager.

Order:

Sales General Manager is the authorized person to order the required quantity. The process is first the order goes to procurement and they order it according to the budget. The quantity is ordered by sales and marketing is responsible for design.


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Carrier Services Department

This department is the company s interface consists of 4 people. Main function of this particular department is to deal with AWCC, ROSHAN and Afghan Telecom and also with International GSM networks around the world.

They also make sure that the revenue being generated is higher than what they charge. They also take care of the quality of local and international networks.


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There is one first time contract called mother contract which is made with the other network operators in the local and international markets and if there are some risky issues affecting the customers then they edit it. They become ready to edit in the contract because both the parties loose the revenue if even the problem is with one party.

As we know companies specially the rival firms are very stiff and while making the contract as they are their competitors they demand more than what is expected, in this case the issue goes to the higher authority which is the Ministry of Communication.

Subscriber

MTN

AWCC

Idea India

Marketing

Inter-connect

International Roaming


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Customer Care Department

72 employees in 3 shifts are working in this department. And the number of agents working in this department is dependent on number of subscribers. The most common functions of this department are customer service, data entry, quality, activation, back office and training. They have Areeba Customer Service Centers in five main cities of Afghanistan such as Heart, Mazar, Kabul, Jalalabad and Kunduz.


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Qualities of Agent:

An agent should be like a salesman or who can act like a salesman. Who has computer knowledge, good communication skills, passion, good look and personality. Who can take all the anger from customer to let him feel relax.

Orientation:

Agent is provided 3-days orientation program about areeba, GSM networks, customer care department, and services being provided by areeba such as loading a card, call waiting, call forwarding, roaming, call conference, SMS, credit transferring etc and the way agent should explain it to the customers. After 3 days the agent will sit with experienced agents to watch it practically.

Quality:

Main job of quality team is customer satisfaction. i.e.

Calling back the customers about their solved problems.

Asking about the services.

Listening to the conversation of agents with customers. Quality team is also checks whether the CSR (customer service representative) is well groomed, their body language, the way agents speak, what the agent should say after the conversation mostly in customer service point.

Call Center:

Agents working in call center receive calls mostly about SMS, prices, codes, services, international call. It is just like point of service but on the phone. Details of the customers are entered in the system. If the agent is not able to solve the problem then the problem is escalated to the back office.

Back Office:

After the unsolved problem is sent to the back office, they check it once again before escalating the problem to the IT/ Technical department. i.e. a customer having problem sending SMS, the agent will check the SMS Center No, if it was right, then the agent sends the problem to the back office, they check the problem and if they could not solve the problem, the problem is sent to the IT/ Technical department.


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Data Entry:

These people are responsible to collect the Subscribers Application Forms from the dealers, retailers, areeba main shops and enter them correctly in the system.

Promotion:

Before a promotion is launched, the marketing department sends the details of the promotion to CC department and then it is told to the agents by Quality people and CC Supervisors.

IVR:

IVR is prepared by marketing and CC department and is loaded in the system by IT people.


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IT Department

17 employees are working in IT department. There are various activities carried out by this department like Software development, database development, LAN and WAN and IN operation.

Employees joining this department first go through orientation program and then on-the-job training which is for 4 -6 days.


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Software Application:

Software applications are build in-house as well as it is purchased from 3rd party. They pay the first part of the whole money while purchasing the software and the rest is paid after the training and implementation is done.

Application Support Team:

They support both the development and database people.

Billing and IN:

Billing is responsible to generate the bills for postpaid SIM Cards. And IN is responsible for SIM Card activation, top ups, putting them in the system which is for prepaid subscribers.

Infrastructure:

These people basically deals with IT related issues like PABX, LAN and WAN. PABX is also called IP phone. Software is there to configure the IP phones in particular numbers in the company.


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Technical Department

74 employees are working in this department. Maintenance, operations and implementation are the 3 main functions of this department.

Operations:

Which is also called core network consists of switching, MSC (Mobile Switching Center), BSC (Base Station Center), VAS (Value Added Services).


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MSC:

Handles and interconnect the routing of calls from one phone to another.

BSC:

Handles the allocation of resources to the phones. It is like a channel, and without it you can not make a call. And all the BTS are connected to BSC, and BSC controls the BTS. One BSC can handle about 100 BTS (15000) subscribers.

BTS:

BTS (Base Terminal Station) is the antenna gives average of 15

20 kms coverage and many BTS can be connected to one BSC.

NMS:

Network Management System people look after the alarms by BTS and inform the maintenance group.

VAS:

SMS, GPRS, Call me, ME2U are the value added services.

Implementation:

These people just install the towers, BTS, and the generators.

Maintenance:

Maintenance is consists of electrical power. As in Afghanistan there is no proper electricity, the GSM Network companies use generators to provide electricity for antennas.

Generators and Power:

There are two diesel generators for every site which are filled accordingly by the contractor. They are configured in such a manner that automatically takes breaks without affecting or loosing electrical power. There are 3 security guards working in shifts. There is also one room for security guards. Each DG gives 60 Amps. And each areeba antenna s average consumption is 30 Amps. The rest of the 30 Amps is consumed by security guard s room and lighting around the site.


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Marketing Department

There are 10 employees working in this department. The most common functions of this department are communication, PR, business development and product and services.

Communication:

All types of advertising is carried out by this section. Generally there are two types of advertising they follow.


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1. ATL (Above the line) such as TV, Radio, Magazines, Outdoor, and Newspaper. 2. BTL (Below the line) such as even sponsorship, brochure, leaflets, stickers and web

etc.

There is a company in Karachi, Pakistan who makes the story of the ad and sends it to the marketing department in order to give the ad a local feel. And after that the marketing people make the schedule for the ad and put it on all the channels like Tolo, Afghan TV, Shamshad and Ariana Television Network.


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Consumer preference study of the Afghan Market

The study was aimed to understand the consumer preference of the various segments in the

telecom sector and related factors in the telecom industry. Since consumer preference of

segment or brand determines the popularity and the growth of the given brand.

Further it is important to mention that, the study revolves around the functional line of

consumer behavior.The chief objective of the study is to understand the consumer

preference

The general trend of the industry in terms of service offerings,

To ascertain the consumers preference in cellular brands.

The consumer s assessment of MTN in terms of its offerings,

To measure the consumer s satisfaction with MTN

To gain an insight into the consumers switching habits.

To recommend suggestions based on the findings of the research.

Understanding these issues helps adapt strategies by taking the consumer into consideration.

For example, by understanding that a number of different messages compete for potential

customers attention, it can be learned that to be effective, advertisements must usually be

repeated extensively. It can be also concluded that consumers will sometimes be persuaded

more by logical arguments, but at other times will be persuaded more by emotional or

symbolic appeal. By understanding the consumer, marketers are able to make a more

informed decision as to which strategy to employ.


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Analysis & Interpretations

1. Which cellular brand are you using?

Etisalat

Areeba

Roshan

AWCC

Cellular brand

Analysis:

15% of the respondents had Etisalat SIM Card

31% of the respondents had MTN(Areeba) SIM Cards when they were interviewed

18% of the respondents said that they have Roshan SIM Cards

36% of the respondents when they interviewed said that they had AWCC SIM Cards.

2. How long are you using this brand for?

- - -months

Length of time


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Analysis:

26% of the respondents had their respective SIM Cards for about 1-6 months

23% of the respondents had the SIM Cards for six months to one year.

34% of the respondents had their respective SIM Cards for 12-18 months

17% of the respondents had the SIM Cards for more than 18 months.

3. Do you know all the plans available with your brand?

Yes No

Customer awarness

Analysis:

57% of the respondents know about all the plans available with the respective cellular brand which they use specially MTN.

43% of the respondents didn t know about all the plans or facilities available with MTN.


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4. Do you use value added services?

Yes

No

Customer awarness about value added services

Analysis:

68% of the respondents are aware of all the value added services with MTN Afghanistan.

32% of the respondents are not aware of the value added services provided by MTN Afghanistan.

5. If you go for second connection which cellular brand you will go for?

Etisalat Areeba Roshan AWCC

Customer's choice for second connection


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Analysis:

33% of the respondents will go for Etisalat brand if they go for a second connection taking into consideration the call rate and network coverage.

29% of the respondents said that they will go for MTN(Areeba) for second connection.

14% of the respondents will for Roshan if they a second SIM Card

24% of the respondents will buy AWCC SIM Card if they go for a second connection.

6. Where did you find information about this cellular brand from?

Information source

Analysis

6% of the respondents information source was internet the facilities of having internet access at home and the net cafés got information about the cellular brand.

18% of the respondents information source was TV advertising of the concerned cellular brand then referred and bought a SIM Card.

16% of the respondents found information from the newspapers as many read every

day and the price of the newspaper is very much affordable taking this opportunity

telecom companies go for product promotion by newspapers and find customers so


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the ads in the newspaper had given the information to refer to the telecom companies

and buy a SIM Card.

33% of the respondents found information from their friends because they asked

their friends about which cellular brand to go for, so friends were reliable

information.

27% of the respondents found information about the cellular brand from their

families (father, mother, sister and brother) whom the respondents trust the most.

7. Which facilities did you consider while choosing this cellular brand?

Service speed

Customer care

Coverage

Call rate

Internet (GPRS)

Facilities considered

Analysis

19% of the respondents considered the Internet(GPRS), those who serve the net specially the age group of 20 to 35 because for their daily requirements.

23% of the respondents considered the call rate because their brother, sister, son and daughter stay out of station in other states.

21% of the respondents considered receiving the coverage of the telecom companies since Afghanistan is a mountainous it is very essential for them to be able to connect with their relatives.


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22% of the respondents considered the customer care, incase if they face any problems with their SIM Cards so it should be easy for them to contact customer care and get their problems solved.

15% of the respondents considered the service speed of the telecom companies because they are time conscious specially for traders and merchants.

8. What external factors did influence your decision choosing this cellular brand?

Family

Friends

The ogranization

Marketing activities

Occupation

Influence of external factors

Analysis

29% family had influenced the respondents decision while choosing a cellular brand because for some family members were the big influencers and had enough information about the cellular brands and had to follow what they said and even for a few the SIM Cards were purchased by their family members.

27% friends were the external influencer of the decisions made by the respondents because they are a reliable source to them and asked them every kind of questions openly and even went to the concerned company branches with the respondents to buy a SIM Card.

25% the organization where the respondents work were influenced, because SIM Cards were distributed freely for some government organizations and employees were the SIM Cards as bonus.


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7% the marketing activities (TV ads, Newspaper & Magazines ads, the billboards ads, internet ads and also schemes) had influenced the respondents

decisions.

12% Occupation has influenced the respondents to have a SIM Card like the doctors because they have to cooperate with people in case of emergency.

9. How do you feel about your decision choosing this cellular brand?

Satisfied Average Satisfied Unsatisfied

Satisfaction level

Analysis

28% of the respondents were satisfied because their needs for which they had the SIM Cards were satisfied like Call rates and networks coverage.

63% of the respondents were average satisfied those who used to talk on the phone very regularly and just wanted to have a SIM Cards for other facilities like to serve internet.

9% of the respondents were not satisfied with their decisions because there was a delay activation when they bought a SIM Card, often they had problems with network coverage so they had to opt for some other cellular brand.


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10. Will you recommend someone else to go for this brand?

Yes

No

Recommendation

Analysis

98% of the respondents who are, satisfied and average satisfied with their decision and the facilities provided by telecom companies specially MTN like (Caller tunes, Me2U,GPRS) will recommend someone else when they are asked to buy a MTN SIM Card.

2% of the respondents who were unsatisfied with their decision will not recommend someone else when they are asked to buy MTN SIM Card, because there was a delay in activation or because of the network coverage problem.

Age:

- - -

Age group


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Analysis

Respondent in age group of 17 to 25, 5% of them had SIM Cards which includes students, fresh graduates.

Respondents in the age group of 25 to 35, 47% which is the majority were the newly married couples, junior executives, supervisors had SIM Cards.

Respondents in age group of 35 to 45 21% are the doctors, HR mangers, financial managers and sonoir supervisors a few of them use cellular phone for their daily tasks

Respondents who had above 45 years of age made just 27% who were the general manager, doctors, HR managers, financial managers and etc.

Occupation:

Salaried

Student

Self Employed

Occupation

76% of the respondents were salaried, working in different organization which includes the faculties, executive, supervisors, doctors and engineers and managers.

9% of the respondents were students a few number of them work part time after college in hotels wedding halls, or in their own shops like selling mobile credit cards and stationeries.

15% of the respondents were self employed running their own business like garment shop, mobile phone shops, stores and electronic shops.


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Marital Status:

Married

Single

Analysis

61% shows that most of the respondents who had SIM Cards were married because they are more concerned about their families lives and daily work.

39% of the respondents were unmarried includes the fresh working graduates, the students who study college and want to pursue their further education bought SIM Cards.

Gender:


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Analysis

77% of the respondents were male because the number of male working in different organization, running different businesses, looking after house finance are more than the female.

23% of the respondents were female because the number of working female is less as compared to male in different organizations and also in running different business, the number of females are less in young in age group of 17 to 30 years as against male.


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(Observations & Recommendations)


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Key Findings & Observations

Majority of the respondents had AWCC SIM Cards.

Majority of the respondents had their SIM Cards for 12-18months.

Majority of the respondents are aware of all the plans available with MTN Afghanistan.

Majority of the respondents are aware of value added services provided by MTN Afghanistan.

Majority of the respondents found information for buying SIM Cards from friends and families.

Majority of the respondents consider Call rates when they want to buy SIM Cards.

Majority of the respondents decisions were influenced by friends and families while opening saving accounts in banks.

Majority of the respondents were satisfied with their decisions in buying MTN SIM Card.

The majority of the respondents recommend someone else for MTN SIM Card.

Majority of the respondents were male.

Majority of the respondents were salaried (workers).

Majority of the respondents fall in age group of 25 to 35.

Majority of the respondents were married.


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Observations

The analysis proves that most of the customers subscribe to MTN because it provides

better services to its customers using the latest technology and competitive strategies, but

they have to be more active to keep the current customers and find new customers.

From the response (personal interaction) received from the customers during the survey

it could be concluded that they are happy till now and are looking forward to having

much more better services and continue to keep this strategy and make it better.

One of the problems which was told by some of the customers during personal

interaction was that some customer care calls were not answered which is going to have

an effect on the customers and on the company.

It is observed that influence of friends play a major role in selection of cellular service

providers.

The current cellular user prefers to switch to other cellular service provider due to

reasons like limited coverage, no good network


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Suggestions and Recommendations

As I was working and searching for positive points and suggestions I found many

positives and two suggestions which are as follows:

Customers are not answered and guide properly, which has got a bad impact on

customers, I would suggest them to control the employees who are working in call

centers and talk to their bosses in order to avoid such problems, and warn them if such

action is repeated or any complain has been found by the customers he or she will be

fined and fired.

They should consider the following points while training the employees:

1. Organization culture, purpose, and strategy: - When new employees are hired

employees should be told about to promote core mutual respect, honesty, integrity,

team work, service excellence, responsiveness and responsibility at their jobs.

2. Interpersonal and technical skills: - As we know that interpersonal skills are

important especially when it is a service providing organization. These interpersonal

skills involve body language, facial expression, attentive listing, answering customer

care calls, find solution to the customers problem etc all these must be explained to

them in advance during the training period. Technical skills involve knowledge

regarding how to handle new technology and take care of customers.

3. Product knowledge: - This is the most important key aspect of service quality. Staff

members must be able to explain effectively the product to customers and also know

how to position the product.

As the company is having its branches only in few major cities it should start opening

some more branches in other cities too which will be better and easy to reach customers,

find new customers and understand the market situation clearly and the customers

perception about its services.

Holding customer relations programs.

They should survey after each three months to know what the customers response is and

what are they demanding for and having problem with.


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Attracting customers: - As we see that companies spend a great amount of money, time

and resources to so the MTN should be very careful with the market and the customers

to be maintained properly and not lose the current customers but to attract more

customers.

Overall Marketing strategy for MTN :- This marketing strategy will be explained by a

diagram shown below:

Internal Marketing External Marketing

Services

Employees Customers

Interactive Marketing

External marketing: Describes the normal work that is to prepare, price, promotions,

distribute, etc.

Internal marketing: Describes the work to train and motivate the employees to serve

customers well.

Interactive marketing: Describes the employee s skill in serving the customers because

customers judge services not only by its technical quality but by its functional quality.

Satisfying customer complaints: - Sometimes it happens that some customers have a

say or are not satisfied with the services provided MTN they don t complain basically


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because they don t know whom to complain or feel that complaining doesn t worth the

effort, but they can find these complains and problem only when they go for a survey.

Some of the solutions to solve this problem are as follow:

1. Maintain a database of the entire customer and should contact those customers having

complains further it can analyze the types and sources of complains and further can

contact theses customers and try to solve their complains and problems.

2. MTN can have service provider s work more skillfully so that they can handle the

customers well.

3. There should be proper management of advertisement and sales promotion campaign

which may be helpful in enhancing the sales of MTN.

4. MTN should promote several schemes in the market according to the different uses

based on occupation segmentation.


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Learning Derived

This part of the project contains details of how the various observations made in the

organization can be related to the theoretical concepts learnt throughout the year. This

section of the project aims at establishing a link between the observations made in the

organization and the theoretical concepts learnt during the year.

The following observations have been made at the organization:

Organizational Structure:

Every company has a different organizational structure, and it s very necessary to maintain

smooth functioning in the working of the company. An organizational structure basically

defines how job tasks are formally divided, grouped, and coordinated. There are some key

elements that the managers should keep in mind while designing their organizational

structure.

Amidst a vast variety of organizational structures, MTN has a Bureaucratic structure. This is

because, as observed, it satisfies all the aspects of the organizational functioning like its

highly formalized, the decision-making is centralized, and there are not many levels in the

organizations.

Work Specialization:

Work specialization refers to degree to which tasks in the organization are subdivided into

separate jobs. It means that a worker is assigned a specific, particular task, which is to be

done. There are many benefits of adapting this form of working.

MTN also identifies itself on such a paradigm of specialization and has adapted this style of

working. For instance, a particular employee of MTN, working in the finance would just do

the work of finance. At MTN a worker as far as possible does not interfere in working styles

and patterns of other employees. In this pattern of working, employees are bound to have

limited skills but there are many prose s to this kind of a work design; some of which are

like: the work by the employees can be performed more efficiently and effectively,


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employee will be focused. The employee s skills are efficiently used. Employee s skills also

improve in that particular job through repetition. It is easier and less costly to find and train

workers to do specific and repetitive tasks from the company point of view.

Centralization:

MTN has a centralized form of decision-making system. Centralization means the authority

of making decision is given only to one singular authoritive person like at MTN this

authority of decision-making is given to the M.D.

MTN is a company where all the employees are treated equally on one par, as an important

part of the company, hence there are times when even the employees are asked for their

suggestions, active participation and contribution in the decision making process. It was

observed that since the system is centralized, the decisions at MTN are made at a fast pace

and there prevails flexibility in decision-making process.

Departmentalization:

This is the second element is the organization structure after the work design of the company

is selected. Once having divided the jobs according to the workers skills we further on need

to group these similar jobs together so that these common tasks can be coordinated, it s

mainly dividing the similar jobs together as departments. As MTN has tailored the work

specialization element so it s necessary even to adapt departmentalization and we have seen

in the previous pages that the company has many departments. There are different types of

departmentalization s MTN have adapted one of these different types i.e. the function based.

Function based departmentalization is used in the service division of the company, the

different departments under functional based are the Accounts department, Human Resource

department, sales, billing. Here at MTN there exists a functional departmentalization. It can

be inferred so because here the departments are divided by the similarity of the tasks

performed by a particular group of employees. For example all of those belonging to the

accounts department will perform jobs related to the accounting of the firm and likewise

with all the other departments of the firm.


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Formalization:

MTN is a highly formalized company. Each and every employee in the company knows

what he/she is supposed to do. All the job details like what they are supposed to do, what

they are not supposed to do, how much work they have to do, what time their work starts,

when it ends all rule and regulations are set and all the employees have to strictly abide by

the set rules and regulations. This formalized wok pattern enables the company to achieve

the predetermined uniform and desired output.

Organizational Culture

It s a set of values, standards, ethics, and facilities given to the workers etc., which make one

organization different from the other organizations.

The culture of MTN is like, what a perfect company which is excellent in its performance

has. They have high values and morals set. They consider their employees a very important

part of the organization. They give them all the facilities like bonuses, they even provide the

employees with health club facility, and many more facilities are provided.

Organizational culture is defined as a common perception held by the organization s

members and is a system of shared meaning. At MTN all the employees believe in serving

the customer in the most efficient manner and they have shaped their culture keeping this in

mind.

Leadership styles:

The managers at MTN have high concern for productivity as well as for people. The

manager treats his subordinates as his friends and understands their difficulties and tries not

to overburden them. The Managers here at MTN Afghanistan are a mixture of both

transactional and transformational leader as they guide and motivate their followers in the

direction of the established goal by clarifying role and task requirements and at the same

time providing individual consideration to their subordinates. They are also visionary

leaders as they are able to create and articulate a realistic, credible attractive vision of the

future for all their employees. It is also seen that the managers here are employee oriented


Goa-India

leaders because their main emphasis is on the interpersonal relationships of the firm. They

take a very keen interest in the needs of the employees and also accept individual differences

among the members.

Recruitment:

The firm has no stringent recruitment strategies. If at all there is a vacancy for a post in the

firm, they put out an advert in the news paper and the required response comes in. These

responses are then filtered and only the best few are selected (those that most closely fit the

requirements of the post) and these candidates are then called in for a personal interview.

And then from here the final selection if made based on the candidates performance in the

interview. The firm is welcome and open to young people especially in the marketing field

where the energy and enthusiasm is most sought. And in the administrative field the

experience would play a more vital role. If anyone needs a chance they give it to them. If

they prove themselves then they are taken in. if however their performance is not up to the

expected standards even after many opportunities then they are let go of. This helps them to

build their professionalism in the firm itself without any previous restrictions.

Job satisfaction:

All the employees in MTN seem to be satisfied, as the employee turnover of the company

seems to be next to negligible. The reason could probably be mutual support, compatibility

and understanding between the employees; better and lucrative job prospects and higher

financial opportunities; no ego clashes; satisfactory pay roll structure offered, pay for

performance, family feeling and so on.

Motivation:

Motivation may be defined as the propensity, or the level of desire of an individual to

behave in a certain manner at a certain time and in a certain situation. That means, that being

motivated means that a particular behavior has to follow. Motivation in MTN is observed to

be the willingness of an employee to respond to the organisational and company

requirements. It s seen that, the more positive the individual s motivation towards the


Goa-India

organisation and the company s requirements, the more effective is his performance. But on

a whole, it was observed that, there s a lot of positive vibes of motivation coming from the

management front of MTN towards its employees.

Performance evaluation:

At MTN, Performance Evaluation is carried out every year in order to find out whether an

employee deserves a promotion or a termination. These Performance Appraisals are carried

out to also identify training and development needs. The main aim of these appraisals is to

provide feedback to the employees about their performance and their conduct at work. These

appraisals act as a basis for reward allocations. Performance appraisal of each employee is

done by his or her immediate superior. Every minute detail is taken into consideration while

preparing a performance appraisal.

Decision making process:

The decision making process takes place at two levels in the company major decision and

minor or small time decisions. The type of decision making and goal setting approach used

by the company is of the traditional goal setting type, with a means end chain following it

and not the management by objectives approach followed by most of the companies today.

The traditional goal setting approach refers to the process of setting goals in which goals are

set at the top level of the organisation and then broken down into sub goals for and at each

level of the organisation, which is then followed by a means end chain referring to an

integrated network of goals in which the accomplishment of goals at one level servers the,

means of achieving the goals or ends at the next level. At MTN the major decisions of the

company are taken by the M.D.

Communication Model:

In today s fast moving world everything seems to be moving on just the way one

communicates. As far as communication in relation to an organization is concerned it serves

four major functions in an organization controlling and motivating the employees, emotional


Goa-India

expression and providing information to the employee. Thus helping the organization to

increase its productivity

The main objective of the communication model at MTN is to establish a procedure for

internal communication for the effectiveness of the quality management system.

Here in MTN internal communication is established for three means

- from individual department to top management

- from top management to individual department

- from department to department

Communication within a particular dept is maintained through personal discussion. But in a

centralistic point of view, the communication takes place in the company in well organized

formal, systematic free flow pattern, with very little barriers to communication.

The communication network that the channel to which the information flows in this

organization is formal network, which is mainly used in the vertical communication pattern,

that helps in the movement of the authority chain and also limits the communication to task

related communication.

Strategy:

An organization structure is a tool to help the management of a company to achieve the

goals of the company. Since objectives are derived from the organization overall strategy, it

is closely linked to each other. MTN as an organization mainly makes use of the strategy of

cost minimization. Cost minimization is a strategy which emphasizes on high cost control,

avoidance of unnecessary expenditure, marketing expenses and price-cutting. As it believes

that the cost minimization helps in making economical use of material, labor and time in the

most effective and efficient manner thus increasing the productivity.


Goa-India

Conclusion

To conclude my project report I would like to say that it was really a great experience

working with MTN and I really did gain a lot of knowledge and experience not only

regarding my project but also other things regarding other functions and found the reasons

that why people want to go for a particular brand.

I really appreciated working in such a prestigious and famous company in the world.

I am very much thankful to each and every person who is working there especially my guide

Engineer Abdul Azim Atarud the one who really and mostly encouraged and helped me with

my project.

Wrapping up the survey conducted and the analysis of the survey it can be said that MTN is

facing major competition from Etisalat, Roshan and AWCC. The reason why MTN is facing

major competition is:

All the companies are giving good returns like MTN

They also have flexible and customized products.

They are also trying to build brand through advertisements

Hence the outcome of the survey conducted is the fact that MTN mainly faces major

competition from Roshan, AWCC and more specifically from Etisalat.


Goa-India

Annexure

Questionnaire

1. Which cellular brand are you using?

a. Etisalat b. Areeba c. Roshan d. AWCC

2. How long are you using this brand for?

a. 1-6 months b. 6-12 months c. 12-18 months d. more than 18 months

3. Do you know all the plans available with your brand?

a. Yes b. No

4. Do you use value added services?

a. Yes b. No

5. If you go for second connection which cellular brand you will go for?

a. Etisalat b. Areeba c. Roshan d. AWCC

6. Where did you find information about this cellular brand from?

a. Internet b. TV c. Newspapers d. Friends e. Family f. Others: Please specify .

7. Which facilities did you consider while choosing this cellular brand?

a. Service speed b. Customer care c. Coverage d. Call rate e. Internet (GPRS) f. Others: Please specify .


Goa-India

8. What external factors did influence your decision choosing this cellular brand?

a. Family b. Friends c. The organization where you work d. Marketing Activities e. Occupation f. Others: Please specify .

9. How do you feel about your decision choosing this cellular brand?

a. Satisfied b. Average satisfied c. Unsatisfied

10. Will you recommend someone else to go for this brand?

a. Yes b. No

Thank you for your kind cooperation

Name Marital Status .

Occupation............................................... Sex: a. Male b. Female

Age: a. 17-25 b. 25-35 c. 35-45


Goa-India

Bibliography

1) World Wide Web

2) www.mtn.com

3) www.mtn.com.af

4) Marketing Management by Philip Kotler

5) Services Marketing by Christopher Lovelock

6) MTN brochures and Magazines

http://www.mtn.com

http://www.mtn.com.af

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